Russian President Vladimir Putin left US President Donald Trump waiting for more than an hour before the two were supposed to connect over a call.
Putin (L) and Trump (R) spoke by phone on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, with the White House saying the talks on securing a ceasefire in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine were "going well." (Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKY and NICHOLAS KAMM / various sources / AFP)(AFP)
The two world leaders did eventually connect for a hour-and-a-half phone call on Tuesday, where Putin refused to give Donald Trump the 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine the US president and his team had requested, reported Bloomberg. Instead, Putin agreed only to limit attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
On social media, news of the phone call’s results did not garner half as much attention as the fact that Putin made Trump wait for over 60 minutes.
Putin ‘humiliates’ Trump
Putin was at an event right before the phone call, where he was filmed laughing off a warning about being late. According to The Sun, the Russian president was speaking to industrialists and businessmen at an annual event in Moscow.
The event took place right before his scheduled phone call with Trump between 4pm and 6pm Russian time on Tuesday.
A little after 4pm, the host reminded Putin that he was getting late for the call. The Russian president was filmed smirking and shrugging. According to The Sun, he reached the Kremlin around 5pm - an hour after the call was supposed to begin.
Footage of the moment was widely circulated on social media.
Many called it ‘humiliation’ of Donald Trump and a win for Putin’s power play.
“Making leaders wait is an old Putin power play. But this is pretty brutal,” wrote one X user.
“While speaking to a room full of oligarchs, the host turns to him and asks if he’s going to be late. Putin shrugs. He completely humiliated Donald Trump,” another X user wrote.
Some called it a clear indication of who held the cards in this power play.
“Putin played Trump like a fiddle! Putin has no intention of a real cease fire. He agrees to a limit on energy targets but nothing more. He also wants no military help given to Ukraine, no intelligence help or for Ukraine to join NATO,” an X user noted.